Support Groups

Great tips on support groups.  I attend one at the local library run by the head of the local MHA (Mental Health America--formerly Mental Health Assoc.) who is also a licensed therapist & consumer so we get all sorts of great feedback & warm compassion from her.  She's a great friend.

A couple tips I think are helpful:  Don't dominate the conversation.  If you have a pressing issue, by all means, speak about it, but a support group is not intended to be a therapy session & the other members will probably comment on your situation but should be given time to voice their own concerns, problems & triumphs as well.  Sharing our successes is an important part of our group.  We are all given a boost from the person who did a difficult thing & was successful (from getting a job to expressing a boundary to a contrary relative or just driving to the grocery store when one has a driving phobia).

DO NOT COME UNDER THE INFLUENCE of illegal drugs or alcohol.  You may think you can "hold" your liquor & no one will be able to tell you're drunk or a little pot just relaxes you.  Believe me, we can tell & we can't in good conscience let you drive under that condition (or disrupt the group) so the police will be called if you cannot provide a phone # of someone to pick you up or call a cab.

Our leader has designated certain people who are regulars & are "bubbly" personalities & comfortable greeting new people to introduce themselves & make new people feel comfortable as they enter the room.  We also have a person stationed close to the door of the library so if someone enters looking a bit lost he/she is asked if the support group is what he is looking for & can be directed to the room.

Our support group meets officially at the library once a month, but we also meet informally once a month at a local coffee shop on a Sat. morning.  We usually spend up to 2 1/2 hours there! We stake out a quiet corner & catch up on how our lives are going.  We can get quite animated (& not just from the coffee; I drink water). Sometimes we have had to "sush" people a couple times so that the other patrons do not hear the subject matter.

I have 3 good female friends & they are all from this support group.  Two male friends are very dear to me, also.

Our support group leader has found grants/scholarships for us "regulars" to attend all-day conferences the MHA puts on, as well as ones pertaining exclusively to bipolar (one is coming up next week).  She knows how to get these grants through MHA, the governor's office & many other entities & she supplies the transportation!

Getting involved in a support group can have so many side benefits besides just that 1 1/2 or 2 hour meeting time.  I've been able to get trained to co-lead a support group in the women's jail with the leader of this support group & that is very rewarding.  From this opportunity I am included in a monthy "training" session with other support group leaders & mental health professionals to hear speakers & problem solve & share info. & resources.  All because I dared to step into that room at the library for a depression/bipolar support group listed in a little blurb in the local paper! You will find consumers are valued there, treated with respect, like (dare I say it) as an equal to the "normals."